Nine : Then And Now

The 9th of March is a big day in our Egyptian history.

Mohamed Fawzi, Nasser and Abdel Munim Riad from L to R

First of all it is the martyr Day , from 41 years ago General Abdel Munim Riad had been killed in an Israeli attack during the war of attrition. I still remember it from the school day which is symbolized by an Egyptian red rose .Of course if you ask the people in the street today about it , they will not know or remember its significant , in fact I do not have doubt that most of them do not know General Riad except that there are square and streets named after him !!

They do not know that he was from our brightest military minds in the 20th century , a commander that should have led the Egyptian army in 1967 instead of Abdel Hakim Amar and his nasty gang.

 If we fight the commanders war from our offices in Cairo then the result will be an ultimate defeat , the real place of the commanders is the battlefield

This man was more than a general, he was a military strategist with a vision from a first degree.The general knew and spoke several languages including : English, French, German and Russian.He was more like a military book worm as I can describe him
General Riad had predicted the invasion of Iraq decades before it happened

When the Oil in the States starts to finish , the Americans will head to Iraq in the next 30 years

Of course I do not have a doubt that he may say this during the CENTO aka Baghdad pact days  but the man did not lie and it happened. General Riad is a great example to be studied and followed.

Riad's funeral on the 10th of March 1969

One of the best biographies I have read about this man that fascinated me is in Al Moarekh website which is by far the best independent Egyptian military history website in the Arab world. Of course it is Arabic but I have a wonderful piece in English , a long one actually about General Abdel Munim Riad in Bnet archives.

Here is a special episode from 10 PM show on Dream TV about the late forgotten general

May God bless General Riad soul along with all our fallen soldiers souls everywhere.

Mos'ad Abu Laila wearing a green ribbon

By the way I found a very strange scene in  the Egyptian National TV , the news readers were wearing a green ribbon in the news today !! Is this a new tradition to respect our fallen soldiers today like the red poppy in UK !!?? Because if it is ,then this is a great respectable late decision , well it is never too late to pay respect to our great heroes. In fact I wish that general I mean Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr , the minister of education orders the students to wear that green ribbon today just like forcing the flag salute back again in all schools in Egypt so they can know for real what the 9th of March refers to. This is very important step to protect both our past and our future. Hats off to the news sector at the Egyptian radio and television union for this small gesture but huge step towards our self-respect.

Today also is the 101st anniversary of the 1919 revolution , yes yesterday the 8th was its starting point when Saad Pasha Zaglol and his companions were exiled to Malta but the actual action , the actual real revolution took place today when the whole country suddenly showed its other face to the British forces. From 1919 most Egyptians signed proxies to delegate Saad and his companions so they would represent us in our fight for independence and freedom. I feel that there are lots of similarity between today and yesterday from 101, the only difference is that then we were much more darer. By the way I always wonder Why President Mubarak does not send anyone to put a couple of flowers on Mustafa Kamel and Saad Zaglol's tombs !!???
Anyhow this is a song I have been searching for very long time more than you can imagine , the original song by the original singer and original music.Ladies and gentlemen , I present to you the original 'Ya Balah Zaglol' or 'oh Zaglol dates' composed by legendary Said Darwish to break the British ban to use Saad Zaglol name in the media . As you may know dates have different types and each type has a specific name , among the dates types we have in Egypt is Zaglol date and thus Darwish had a brilliant idea , he made a song about Zaglol dates which he missed so much , of course the Zaglol dates were as a metaphor to Saad Zaglol who had been then in exile. This song , this version I have found is the original one by Naima Al-Masiria , the famous diva of that time who had fantastic hits with Said Darwish like Aziz Aniny
I will stop talking and I will enjoy this old hit which every Egyptian during that time learned by heart and sang it breaking the stupid ban.


Today also is day no.1000 of the Israeli siege which is imposed on Gaza and supported by the Egyptian regime
as far as the one could tell.
It is an irony , is not it !!??
Pray for our martyrs on their day whether as fallen soldiers or as fallen revolutionists and also to the Palestinians in Gaza regardless of your faith
By the way today also Abdullah Khalid , the first commando to raise our flag in occupied Sinai after the six day war has passed away , May Allah bless his soul.